1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to motor vehicle safety systems. More specifically, but without restriction to the particular embodiment and/or use which is shown and described for purposes of illustration, the present invention relates to an airbag apparatus adapted for use in conjunction with a glove box for occupant knee protection in a motor vehicle.
2. Discussion
Automobiles have incorporated many safety systems into their design over the years to help protect the occupants during various types of collisions. The seatbelt, which keeps occupants securely fastened to their seat, was and arguably still is the most prevalent safety device in the industry.
In recent years, however, both the government and the automotive industry realized the advantages that an inflatable occupant restraint system or airbag system could provide. The drive to develop and implement such a system was so strong that within just a few years almost all vehicles included inflatable occupant restraints that protected occupants during frontal collisions. The traditional frontal air bag is disposed in the steering wheel or the instrument panel of a vehicle and acts to protect the head, chest, and pelvic area of a front passenger during the sudden deceleration caused by an accident. During an accident, however, the lower torso of the passenger may slide forward on the seat in some types of vehicles especially if a seat belt is not worn. This condition may raise the possibility of injury to the lower extremities such as the knee and lower leg area, as well as the upper torso of the occupant due to knee intrusion into the instrument panel. It is known to provide a restraint for limiting this type of movement, commonly referred to as a `knee-blocker`. One such example is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,613 entitled "Knee Restraining Device for Vehicles." This patent discloses an inflatable device that is directed toward the lower extremities of the passenger to aid in limiting lower torso translation forward along the vehicle seat. The general concept of providing an inflatable device to act as a `knee-blocker` as done in the '613 patent is also illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,043 entitled "Air Bag Activated Knee Bolster."
While such inflatable devices work satisfactorily to limit lower torso movement, they are not always easy to package in a vehicle. On the driver's side of the vehicle, it is possible to package an inflatable `knee-blocker` without dramatically changing consumer comfort. However, on the passenger side of the vehicle, the insertion of an inflatable `knee-blocker` would require some changes in customer comfort, such as either a downsizing, relocating, or eliminating the glove box or decreases the distance between the seat and the instrument panel available for ingress/egress. Many consumers have come to expect a reasonably sized glove compartment in the front on the passenger to store various items and a certain amount of interior spaciousness in their vehicles. Therefore, changing what customers have come to expect is not always desirable.
In response to these traditional shortcomings of an inflatable knee bolster, many automobile manufacturers have employed other means to provide the necessary lower torso restraint without sacrificing customer comfort. One such alternative is to use a stationary panel as a portion of the instrument panel to provide a `knee-blocker.` This is not always acceptable because the reduction in space between the stationary panel and the occupant's knees diminishes the legroom of the vehicle and the feeling of roominess that many customers prefer. One alternative to the stationary panel is employed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,061 entitled "Knee Protection System for the Front Passenger in a Passenger Car." This patent illustrates an inflatable air bag that deploys through the opening of a glove box. The force of the air bag causes the glove box to open and move toward the lower extremities of the occupant. Another similar alternative is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,215 entitled "Passive Lower Body Restraint For Automotive Vehicles," which also calls for the glove box door to open in order to act as a `knee-blocker` in rapid deceleration situations. Both of these alternatives, although satisfactory may experience complications of having a glove box open during a collisions. A glove box typically includes many various articles that may be expelled during a collision and the ability to open a glove box via a hinge designed for a specific amount of travel could be extremely difficult.
As is evident from an analysis of the aforementioned prior art, the ability to meet occupant protection goals contemporaneously with customer satisfaction goals does not exist in the prior art. There is, therefore, still an ever-pressing need to provide a workable glove box on the passenger side of a vehicle while providing an inflatable `knee-blocker.` There is also a need to provide a glove box that is not designed to open during rapid deceleration while providing adequate restraint to the lower torso area of an occupant.